The World of Arts:

Paganini by Lavrovsky

Gwen Herat

The essence of ballet is celebration of spirituality of life. The traditions of classical ballet encompass aesthetic wealth. The various classical ballets do not merely project and platform an art but is a medium of propitiation too. The inner spiritual core of ballet comes through its classical divertisments and continue to shine in its pristine beauty. In its process, the greats make a sizable contribution for its survival.

One such person I single out is Lenoid Lavrovsky. A tribute exploded in his mind; the mind of one of world’s greatest icon choreographers who decided to project Niccolo Paganini in a one-act ballet called, Paganini using Sergei Rachmaninov’s immortal score, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. It must have been an intricate, complicated ballet where the authenticity had to be perfect to the point. Paganini by Lavrovsky: what a beautiful and marvellous concept where the essence of brilliance surfaced.

The very idea was like a tornado clashing each other and who would dare other than a virtuso like Lavrovsky? The composer was the quintessential Romantic virtuso. The great Paganini was surrounded by legends denoting his diabolical skill on the violin which his eccentric appearance and the excesses of his life did nothing to expel.

Sergei Rachmaninove composed his celebrated score, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini in 1934. It was the composer himself who suggested to Mikail Fokine to choreograph a narrative ballet about Paganini using his score.

Came 1939, and Fokine produced and choreographed Paganini to the glorious scores of Rachmaninov for the Ballets Russes debuting its first performance at Covent Garden in the summer before the outbreak of war.

By 1960 when Lavrovsky became the Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, he mounted Paganini in Moscow with Yarslav Sekh as the tormented violinist. It had such an impact that later this role was danced brilliantly by Vladimir Vasiliev and caused such a sensation that many versions followed thereafter.

But unlike Fokine who projected Paganini as a genius tormented by his own virtuosity, Lavrocsky went further and revealed the great composer as an artist within an emotional struggle of a great performer who at the end realised his authority and eventual triumph of his art.

Lavrovsky separated his creation into seven parts that made up the narrative ballet; and the titles were; First Improvisations, Enemies, A Meeting, Lonliness and Despair, Love and Consolation, The Joy of Creative Work and Death and Stronger than Death.

For many years Lavrovsky dreamed of making a dream ballet for an evening that would be one-act ballet a part of which would be devoted to the music of his favourite composer, Rachmaninov and he found his dream in Rhapsody wherein he would pay tribute to the amazing genius of Paganini.

Niccolo Paganini (1780-1840)

And he found his principal character, Paganini, the rebellious, passionate, eccentric icon who struggled for his art with fervour that fired the imagination of Lavrovsky. In his ballet, Paganini do not as much touch a violin because he himself became the beautiful instrument for Lavrovsky play upon.

It was a brilliant ballet where Lavrovsky, Rachmaninov and Paganini became the symbols of deathless beauty upon the power of music. The pop star of his age, he drew record crowds whereever he performed and there was hardly a town in Europe he did not perform. The critics raved over his playing and found his work miraculous, inconceivable and professed him to be the greatest violinist ever.

Blessed with a magnetic personality his appearance was fabulous. No wonder the people all went crazy when he first performed in Paris. It was divine, diabolic and enthusiastic.

And all this because his father forced him to play the violin against his wish.

Composer of many great scores, he underwent strict and disciplined training from the age of seven where his role model was mozart. Thereby, he developed great and astonishing technique. Every aspect of fingered octaves running up to ricochet bowing, made him a child-genius in dazzling embellishments.

There was no stopping Paganini as he reached dizzy heights marvelling the world of music. His spectacular style of playing, the ceaseless travel, overwork and other excesses, ruined his health and caused his early death.

But not before the world accepted him as the Messiah of stunning music.

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